


The Raven Queen

by SherlollyRumbelleshipper07



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Character Development, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, LITERALLY, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Social Issues, Soul-Searching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-27 06:06:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13242042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlollyRumbelleshipper07/pseuds/SherlollyRumbelleshipper07
Summary: It's the VK's turn to choose who comes into Auradon next.The one with the most at stake this time? Carlos de Vil.The challenge? The scariest and most dangerous VK on the Isle.Oh, did he mention that if he fails, then he just let an unstoppable force upon Auradon?Will he be able to save her from herself? Can this 'evil' woman even change? And most importantly, is there someone worth saving even there?





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the VK's turn to choose who comes into Auradon next.
> 
> The one with the most at stake this time? Carlos de Vil.
> 
> The challenge? The scariest and most dangerous VK on the Isle.
> 
> Oh, did he mention that if he fails, then he just let an unstoppable force upon Auradon?
> 
> Will he be able to save her from herself? Can this 'evil' woman even change? And most importantly, is there someone worth saving even there?

-

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Leilah was in no way considered ‘approachable’. It might have been because of who her parents were. Nobody wanted to cross the daughter of the wicked ‘Mother’ Gothel and sinister Dr. Facilier. It might have been because her exotic beauty was a bit intimidating. After all, she was the perfect mix of her parents, every attractive feature with none of their flaws. Ebony hair as thick and luscious as her mother’s, so dark it held a slight blue hue if one looked closely, fell in a wild array past her shoulders, with her signature violet feather resting softly among her curls. Her skin, that astonishingly never once blemished, was only one shade away from the same shade of chocolate that her father’s was. However, all could agree that her eyes were the most alluring aspect of her appearance. Amethyst with vivid green undertones, framed by dark lashes. Often it was speculated that some sort of spell had been placed upon her as a babe, for her being so beautiful was unnatural for the child of villains. Of course, while her parents neither confirmed nor denied such claims, Leilah simply ignored such ridiculous accusations, knowing they were spoken by envious idiots not fit to lick the dirt beneath her boots. No, the most likely reason people stayed clear of her was because of the cold and indifferent attitude she radiated to those who dared approach. To put it simply, they feared her.

 

Leilah was not like the other villain’s children. She did not try to be the biggest and most evil teen on the Isle. She didn’t even try to act evil. She did not steal, bully or threaten other people. The only thing villain like quality that she possessed was the loner trait. No one ever saw her talk nor pay any attention to those around her. She seemed to have neither foe nor ally. (None could say friend since it was common knowledge friends didn’t exist on the Isle. Only allies or enemies.) When stuck in the pathetic excuse for what they called school, she sat in the back, furthest from her fellow cellmates, *ahem* I mean classmates, and simply stared straight ahead, not sparing a look to any who accidently glanced at her. It disturbed those who did catch her eye, for while a glare might have been the norm, they received an emotionless gaze. The fool whose gaze she unintentionally meet would feel a chill shiver down their spine. The few who had at some point encountered the full onslaught, though they would never admit it, for a small instance feared for their life. She wasn’t just heartless, she was _soulless._ It felt as though she cared not who lived and who died, not even for her own parents. Amongst the younger generations, and some of the elder, it could all be agreed upon that if there was ever true, pure evil that not even the great Maleficent could compete with, it was born in the form of Leilah Adira Facilier.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. The Beginning

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-

-

Carlos de Vil felt torn. It wasn’t the first time he had felt so and probably not the last. After all, he was friends with Mal, Jay and Evie. Between those three he was always faced with difficult choices. Be it having to decide on a dish everyone could agree on for lunch _(the last time he nearly lost an eye for choosing Evie’s choice of shrimp over Jay’s choice of pizza),_ what latest experiment to try next, and going on adventures with them for say, oh, lost Dragon Eye scepters. Yeah, Carlos was divided quite often on making decisions.

But this one? How in the world could he make such a huge decision!

Carlos pondered his rotten luck…

The day had started out good. He’d just managed to add the last piece to newest invention when he was summoned to meet with the King and Queen. He hardly had time to put down the wrench he was holding before he was spirited away to the palace. Several minutes passed while he waited in the ‘conference’ room. Eventually the rest of the gang (meant in the _friendliest_ of ways of course) appeared along with Ben, Queen Belle and King Adam?...Beast?, and Fairy Godmother.

Personally Carlos was still unsure how to address the royal. He may have been friends with Mal and Ben, but that didn’t mean he was on first name basis with the royal couple. He was barely comfortable being in the same room with them, let alone **speaking** to them. Really, who could blame him though? After all, Carlos was never known for being the bravest or boldest of kids, villain heritage or not. It took several moments to calm the room, but everyone settled down after a while.

Queen Belle smiled warmly at the occupants. “We would like to thank you all for coming. I know you probably are all very busy-“ _Not that we had a choice anyway,_ he thought sardonically “-but this is a really important matter that we need to discuss. Adam and I think that you four,” she waved a hand over Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos-“would be the best to decide. We would really appreciate your help.” As she finished her speech, she took a small step back and gave her husband a pointed glance. King Beast cleared his throat and looked at the teens intently before speaking. As the king began to open his mouth, Carlos felt his stomach drop. Somehow he knew that whatever came out next would ruin his day.

He was right. Apparently since the experiment with letting the children of villains into Auradon worked so well last time, they decided to let four more students attend this school year. However, they obviously could not know who would be willing to actually try life here and not, say, try to take over the kingdom in revenge for their parents. The only ones who might have an idea were the kids who actually grew up on the Isle and knew the people. So now it was up them to decide the next trial run candidates to attend Auradon Prep. And the best part? It’s up to them, Fairy Godmother had added cheerfully, to “watch over their progress and guide them onto the path of light.” While this may have sounded like an amazing task and honor to those not as clever with words (*cough* Jay *cough*), Carlos knew what she really meant; it’s your job to babysit the new kids.

 

Normally he wouldn’t have minded (much), but he could hear the threat underneath the pleasant tone. If their choice was wrong, the fault would be fully blamed on the person who chose. The punishment may not be as extreme as banishment, but that didn’t mean Auradon would be forgiving either. All of this was of course said in the most careful and gently of ways, but the message was still the same.

 

He turned to his friends. Jay and Evie look excited. Mal…she didn’t seem to be falling for it either. She understood what this meant too. For once they seemed to agree on the same thing. The half-fairy and lab-rat shared an apprehensive expression. Suddenly Ben stood up. With hands clasped tightly he announced, “I think this is a great idea. I think this could really benefit everyone. By giving the chance of redemption to more villain kids we could have a worldwide change. Show them that not everyone will discriminate against them just because of their heritage, that there is a different way of life. This is their chance for a new beginning. One free from their parents bad influence, we could show them the beauty in the world. Plus Auradon has become pretty accepting since the first time.” At this he winked at his girlfriend. During this time his voice had slowly rose in volume, his excitement starting to increase with each word. He took a deep breath and started more calmly, “I know I’m still a teen. I know that I still have a lot to learn. And I know that the quality of life is, in a big understatement, poor…”He hesitated slightly.

Carlos snorted. Poor? That _was_ an understatement. There was no magic, hardly materials to make food and shelter for oneself, and even more scarcely any food. That’s not even mentioning that it was an Isle with nothing but villains who were not above killing to get what they wanted.

Ben knew that was only some of the problems people faced on the Isle of the Lost. He was positive that Mal had left a lot of details, wanting to spare him the brutality of life there. He often felt guilty for not paying more attention to the needs of his people. Even if they were the villains.

“But that is also why I think this needs to happen. Only those who lived there could know how terrible it is. Auradon needs to be more aware. I need to know. These people trapped there should be given a chance at life, a real life. Not that pathetic excuse of one.” A contemplative silence descended. Jay and Evie looked almost excited. Mal seemed to be battling between approval and wariness.

Carlos remained quiet. It was true, this was a great opportunity to ease tensions between the new generations. Carlos was still hesitant though. The truth was that he and his friends had always been outcasts in their own ways, to (secretly) good to be a villain, but too bad to be a part of Auradon. Until they actually got there, until they were shown a way of life away from the Isle. There were some he knew that needed to get off the Isle before it was too late. Kids that hadn’t yet became the incarnate of their parents, and some who just needed to be saved. The lives of some who _could_ be saved. But, he also knew that while there were a few that might change, the majority wouldn’t. They were too selfish. Too far gone. It was an unfortunate side-effect of life on the Isle. If you wanted to make it then there couldn't be any room for weakness _(goodness)._ It was just the way things are on the Isle. And you learned this harsh truth from a very young age.

But _maybe_ , just maybe, there was still some to be saved. Hopefully.

* * *

 

He was jarred from his thoughts by an argument that had broken out among the group. Evie was the most passionate. Her indigo curls moved wildly around the more agitated she grew, reminding Carlos of the snake lady from mythology. Was it Martha? No…Medea? Oh no, wait, it was Medusa!

Jay was standing, waving a tan gloved finger at Mal, whose eyes flashed a dangerous shade of emerald. “Oh come on,” Evie’s voice pleaded, “just think of what those poor girls back on the Isle are missing out on. There aren’t any good makeup stores there, you know that.” Jay scoffed.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure while everyone is back there starving, what they are really concerned about is _makeup._ No, I say we do it so we save a few kids who won’t make it from starving to death, if they aren’t killed first.”

Evie glared back, unable to contradict his very true statement. Ben, Fairy Godmother, and the King and Queen looked horrified. Carlos glanced at Mal who only winced. Obviously she hadn’t told Ben all the details.

Mal spoke next, “Look, I don’t mean we should just abandon them, but we only have a limited number of people to select, and I just think we should be careful. If we pick the wrong people, we will be the ones to be blamed. All of our progress with the making peace with the citizens of Auradon will be ruined.” Mal then added with a fierce glare, reminding those in the room just who it was they were talking too,

“I refuse to be known as the person who unleashed a monster into Auradon. It’s bad enough being known as Maleficent’s daughter.”

This time found the rest of them wincing. While they made the right choice in the end, certain subjects, such as Maleficent and being reminded of their origins period was still a sore point for everyone. Carlos finally spoke up. “Guys, I get it. We all are worried about the consequences, and we all want to help, even if the reasons aren’t the same. I don’t think we should be forced to do this if we don’t agree to it.”

King Beast sputtered, clearly disagreeing. On a normal day, Carlos wouldn’t dare even look at him wrong, but today was not a regular day.

He glared, cutting him off, “No. If someone’s heart isn’t in it the plan will only fail. We changed because people had faith in us. They believed we were something other than our parents spawns. If the person’s babysitter-“Fairy Godmother injected, “Mentors Carlos. Not babysitters. Mentors!” Carlos continued on. “-mentor doesn’t believe in them, why should they believe in themselves? I think the people making the choice should have a vote. If someone votes no, that person doesn’t go. Deal?” Evie and Jay nodded. Mal’s emerald gaze at Carlos was emotionless. While the little mad scientist was a coward most of the time, he never backed down when he truly believed in something.

His dark eyes meet hers evenly.

Moments passed with the others watching the staring contest with abated breath. If Mal refused nothing would get done. Her stubbornness was famous, and if this was the case, then the royal family’s plan would never be seen through. Finally, Mal gave the tiniest of nods and a small smirk to Carlos. Clearly he had impressed her. Not many could keep her gaze, let alone stare her down. Maleficent being among the list and Ben the other. The atmosphere relaxed at last.

Queen Belle moved to take the floor once more. “I agree. This matter is a delicate one as it is, and I will approve of anything that you guys find necessary. It makes me proud that you four are taking this seriously.” An encouraging glance look towards Carlos from the Queen made him blush. He preferred to not be noticed, so this special consideration deflated the previous bravo he had.

Fairy Godmother chimed in, “So do I. Now, let’s get down to business. A simple yes or no will suffice. Now, let’s start with…Evie. Evie dear, what do you say?” Without skipping a beat, she gave a demure, “Yes.” No surprise there. “Jay?” He grinned, the ‘p’ in his answer making a _pop_ sound. “Yup,” Evie and Carlos shared an exasperated sigh. Fairy Godmother moved on.

This time, in a gentle voice, “Mal?” Mal remained silent. Her pink lips pursed. She looked slowly at each person’s face. She then stared at Ben, communicating silently with him in a way only they understood. Ben’s face was hopeful, yet judgment free. Ben wanted this to happen, but he wouldn’t ever force Mal into something she didn’t to do. Carlos jumped a little when she looked at him unexpectedly. He didn’t think she would look to him for help. He saw the struggle in her eyes, the same in him that he too was battling.

Not many people could understand what it was like to have mother’s like theirs. Mothers who despised their children and would gladly end their lives for a _piece_ of their former glory. Jay and Evie’s parents weren’t lovey dovey with their kids, none of the villains were, well except for those rare few, but at least they actually loved them. Jafar may have always been disappointed with Jay, but he wouldn’t dream of laying a hand on him.

The same went for Evil Queen. In fact, Evil Queen was one of the best parents on the Isle. She cared for her daughter and didn’t care who saw. But Cruella and Maleficent…they were they worst. Mal and Carlos both understood what it was to grow up in the household they did, and this understanding also made them tend to lean on each other in situations like this. Evie was Carlos’s little naïve sister, Jay his annoying charismatic best friend, and Mal was his protective older sister. So Carlos did the only thing he knew. He gave her permission. Permission for what, he had no clue.

It could be to say no, it could be to agree. He just knew she was lost and in need of a little approval for whatever she had going on in that bright mind of hers. For a moment her eyes softened, and she gave him an affectionate glance. A deep exhale escaped from her.

“Yes.”

Fairy Godmother and King Beast look surprised. Apparently they thought she would refuse. They couldn’t really be blamed for their assumption, not after the fight she put up against the whole idea. Ben and Queen Belle seemed to be a little confused about the last action between Carlos and Mal. Ben was about to question it, but Mal only shook her head. Now was not the time to explain. Evie and Jay only smiled. They knew Mal would make the right choice. Both knew she was just concerned for them, all of them, and didn’t want to risk her friend’s reputations. But sometimes risks had to be made to pave a better future. Seconds later Fairy Godmother recovered from her shock.

“Okay. And you Carlos?”

“Yes.”


	3. Decisions, Decisions

“Now on too deciding who will be chosen. Mal?” Fairy Godmother’s smile was blinding.

Mal’s eyes grew wide, Jay and Evie cried out in protest, and Carlos sputtered. What? They had only just agreed. They couldn’t possibly expect them to make such an important decision that moment!

Thankfully, Queen Belle seemed to have the same thought, for she said next, “Now, now. There is no need to make such a drastic choice today. I think we should give them at least over the weekend to think it over.” Fairy Godmother pursed her mouth in thought, and then nodded slowly. The gang slumped in relief. Carlos silently thanked everything in the love of science.

Oh, and Queen Belle too, of course.

 King Beast cleared his throat.

“Well, now that this matter has been settled for the time being, I call this meeting to an end. I have took the liberty of ordering crème puffs. Everyone is welcome to have some.” That offer might have sounded more genuine if not for the fact that he stared everyone down, including Ben, during the last sentence, and Queen Belle’s silent and vehement shaking of her head behind his back, warning them from trying.

Mal, who was never fond of sweets in the first place, slide out of her chair lazily and left hand in hand with her boyfriend.

Carlos might have even tried due to his now famished stomach, but decided he just might need his hands to finish his experiment. So with that, Carlos stood cautiously and sort of tip-toed around the table, not wanting his intent to be mistaken by the King who was guarding his crème puffs possessively. Jay followed soon after, and then Evie. Jay was a thief, but he was not suicidal. Dying over crème puffs wasn’t really how he wanted to end his day. He said as much when Carlos asked why. Evie only rolled her chocolate eyes at them. She could sense a fight about to break out, and started a conversation to avoid dealing with cleaning the mess they would make.

 “So, who do you guys have in mind?”

Jay tilted his head. His dark eyebrows furrowed, laced with confusion. Evie became exasperated. “From the Isle idiot. You remember? You should. We spent just about half the day discussing it.” Jay sent a _very polite_ gesture in return to her caring comment.

“Guys, I don’t think we should talk about this here. They probably haven’t told anyone but us about what they’re planning. I think we should talk about it in a more private setting.” They both looked at Carlos.

_‘Well, that explains the setting of our meeting,’_ Evie mused. Usually all discussions weren’t held in such a formal place. Most of the time the gardens or a luncheon would suffice.

She and Jay communicated silently with Carlos _._

_‘The same place as usual?’_ was the unasked question.

They had only graduated the previous year, and since the group didn’t wish to be torn apart when they graduated Auradon prep, and none of them had any real roots to any region of Auradon, the King and Queen had set up quarters near their college campus for them to stay in. They were given a choice of who to room with, which had been rather obvious from the get go, and were even granted the option to decorate their dorm. Normally no such thing would be allowed, but due to the special circumstances of their origins and, well, other things, they made an exception.

He tipped his head up. _‘Yes.’_

With that the three friends headed off to the girls dorms.

* * *

 

They arrived to find Mal already waiting for them on Evie’s bed, arms folded behind her head, one leg crossed over the other, with both feet propped on top of the head board. Her black boots lay in the middle of the doorway, making Evie cluck her tongue as she picked them up, and her ripped green jacket draped casually over the velvet love seat by the window.

Mal and Evie may have been best friends, but the fact remained that they were truly as different as night and day. It showed blatantly in their décor. Other than the silver shade painted with obvious care upon the walls, the two young women had no other common or agreed upon color scheme.

Evie’s bed was closest to the window, mostly due to that she enjoyed sunlight where Mal was repelled by it.

Mal’s side of the room was decked out in a gothic, yet stylish fashion. Her silk comforter was a deep shade of purple, so dark it was almost black, that matched the shine of Evie’s satin turquoise comforter.

Carlos personally never really understood why the just didn’t get the same fabric. They looked the same, so why not save money and get the same thing? He guessed it had something to do with their sense of ‘fashion’.

Mal’s bed had no head or foot board, and had only two or three green and black pillows. She faced her bed toward a bookshelf near the closet, one door painted a dark blue and the other a lime green, which seemed to be neutral territory. There was no obvious color scheme in that area, save for the closet, which was the unofficial spot the boys preferred to roam. This ‘hang out’ spot contained a single wooden task, a rather large bookshelf, and the closet. The glittering, pale pink curtains on Evie’s side of the room were shut firmly, hiding the teens from prying eyes. Jay strutted toward the love seat, jumped on the cushions, earning a scowl from their blue headed friend, and plopped upon the back of it, leaning with his hands clasped over his long legs, which seemed to be crushing the cushions. Evie stared the offending appendage. Jay grinned at her, and Mal smirked. Carlos only shook his head, knowing an inevitable round of bickering was about to ensue.

“What cha going to about it _Princess_?” Jay throughout mockingly.

A pillow to his face was his answer.

Jay fell to the floor, annoyance and amusement in his expression. Evie’s smiled sweetly back at him. Carlos chuckled.

She was a girly girl, that was true enough true, but what not many guys understood was how tough she was. She was surprisingly strong for someone her size, and when the occasion called for it, she could throw a mean punch. Not that anyone let that happen often. Most of the time people wouldn’t dare try anything to him or her with Mal and Jay around.

“Maybe if you kept your dirty feet off of my furniture, you wouldn’t get knocked off.” Even Mal let out a brief giggle at her statement. “Yeah, yeah, you just remember I know where you live.” Evie rolled her eyes at Jay. “Oh, **_I’m terrified_**. You just remember what happened last time you tried to prank me.” Jay flinched.

Carlos’ laughter only grew.

 'The incident' as they referred to it, ended with Jay having a black eye and pink hair for a week.

It was hilarious watching Jay try make up excuses _(mostly to the girls he was flirting with)_ while Mal and Evie would interrupt and tell the truth. He had snuck in at night, only to trip on an unexpected stray book, and ruin Mal’s art project. Somehow he also ended up ripping the book, which was Evie’s textbook. Evie was so furious, it was one of the few time she resorted to violence, while Mal decided public humiliation would be better. Hard as he tried, Jay couldn’t wash out the pink from his hair.

To this day, he almost always looked at the floor before he entered the room.

 Mal sighed. “Okay, it’s time to get down to business. Does anyone have any idea on who they want?”

Jay shrugged. Evie raised her hand. “Can we make some rules? Like no one gets to choose any half siblings of theirs or anything like that?” To Non-native Islanders it would seem that the reason was not to show any partiality, but that was not the case. On the Isle the ones who fought the most and ended with the bloodier fights were siblings. Jealousy ran high. Their parents would gleefully pit them against one another.

It was with cruel delight that the Villains made them compete for their affection. There was too much bad blood between half siblings for any of the gang to choose one.

Needless to say no one felt the need to protest this decision. Or at least in Carlos’ case, not completely.

 Jay added, “That’s better. Takes out the children of Hades, Evil Queen, my mom, and Shan Yu and a few others. That take out a little under half the Isle.” Mal thought for a moment.

“So the kids of Dr. Facilier, Gothel, Gaston, Hook and whoever else is who we have to choose from?”

Jay shook his head.

“Don’t think about bothering with some of them. They’re too much like their parents to change.” Mal hummed in agreement. It didn’t need to be spoke of which few wouldn’t make the cut. Any child of Gaston or one of the Tremaine’s were exact replicas of their villain parent, though there were one or two exceptions, but not more than that. That’s not even mentioning the uproar from Chad and the royal family if they were allowed. A kid of someone as awful as Maleficent was enough, but letting one or _two_ children of some the other biggest antagonist against the major royal families of Auradon in? Forget it. It wasn’t worth the headache.

The next inquiry came from Evie. “So that leaves who? Gothel and Dr. Facilier, Hook, Ursula, Clayton, and Shan Yu.” Mal scoffed.

“No, none of Ursula’s kids or Hook’s sons. They’re even worse than their parents. Plus, we all know shrimpy has it out for me, and Harry’s her precious little lap dog.”

A thoughtful silence settled.

  Jay was stuck. The Clayton boys were fun. They loved to wrestle, and the best part of it was that they weren’t like the Gaston boys who were afraid to ruin their pretty boy faces. They would get down and dirty with the rest. The main problem was that they were also close with the Gaston clan and Cruella herself. He knew just how much Carlos loathed being near them. So that crossed them out. Gaston, though, did have that _one_ son who wasn’t a complete jerk, even if he was pretty stupid. Was is Gus? Jay couldn’t really recall. The main problem with that laid in that he was Harry Hook’s lackey. With them being within Uma’s crew, who despised Mal and her friends, it definitely took them out as contenders. On the other hand was the children of Hook. While it was obvious that Hook’s only son was not possible, he also had plenty of pretty daughters. Hmm…..

  Evie was conflicted about who would turn out the prettiest. Ursula’s daughters had the best looking hair on the Isle _(besides her of course)_ , but she doubted they would look kindly on her guidance in fashion. Not even considering her oldest, Uma, who would surely murder than all in their sleep. After all, that old sea hag Ursula was their mother. And her daughter’s inherited their dreary sense of style from her. She already had to deal with Mal’s love for dark colors. She was _not_ putting up with anyone else’s. So that left “Mother” Gothels kids. As a general rule, Evie hardly dealt with those without any fashion expertise. _(Except for her crazy bunch, but that didn’t count.)_ But even she could admit that Gothels children were no slobs by any means. But she still didn’t feel right with it. They were too vain for even Evie, which quite an incredible feat. OH! What about the son of Shan Yu? He may not be a doll to make over, but her sure was dreamy. Sean…No…was it…Shayne?

Mal had a good idea of who she wanted. Definitely not a girl, too much drama for her simple tastes. That pretty much only left the grandson of Yen Sid. No one knew his first name, he only went by Sid. Sid certainly was not the scariest teen on the Isle in any way. He was actually kind of a nerd. It may not have been bad if not for his scrawny appearance and almost nice demander. On the Isle, this attitude almost got him murdered a few times, and now that Mal was allowed to care, she worried he might not make it if they didn’t act fast. The weak never did last long. And Sid was most definitely a weak link. Her mind was made up. If she could save one life, she would.

 Carlos was….panicking. How could he chose just one? There were so many kids that needed help. Beggars, not even eight years old, that didn’t have long before they were broken. He knew that they had already agreed not to get siblings involved, but he didn’t know anyone else he could possibly choose besides his baby sister, Ella. She was only 12. Ella…guilt rose within him. He left her on the Isle alone. Their mother wanted nothing to do with her, not having the patience for a little spitfire like her, _(And a spitfire she was. Ella got Carlos in more trouble due to her smart mouth as he tried to get **her** out of trouble)_ but strangely enough, treated her slightly different than his various other siblings. While he might get beaten for back talking, she would only yell and kick her out. If Carlos didn’t know better, he might say that Cruella cared for her, and sent her away out of a…almost…parental gesture. If she lived with Cruella and him, her spirit would have been crushed. But Carlos did not have it in him to think such thoughts. Not with the reality he lived. Now Ella had no one to look after her, and she was still much too young to attend Auradon prep. The Isle held no kindness, no one every stopped to help others…except…

An image of a one person who had saved him from being beat to death came to mind. He tried to banish it. There was no way the gang would agree with _her_ as his pick. No way would they believe she was capable of good. He didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t have thought so either if he had not saw and experienced it for his self. It was too crazy. Besides, if she didn’t want to agree to coming, _(and he strongly doubted she **would** agree) _ then no one could force her too. Not even her parents, who were pretty high on the food chain on the Isle, only topped by their parents. It was a stupid idea. It would never work. But no matter how hard he denied it, she was the only one he could think of.

Well, maybe it wasn’t that awful. Most of her what people knew of her were rumors, and rumors were hardly ever true. He had never really seen her do anything evil. If he were to be honest, she didn’t even act evil. She seemed…indifferent at best. She showed no preference for acts of good _or_ acts of evil. It didn’t make anyone any less afraid of her. Not that anyone would admit that they were afraid at any time. That would be suicide. As he continued to think back, he felt that he was making the right decision. This was an opportunity to give these teens a chance at life. Why should she be denied just because of people who judged her without really knowing her? Yes, she was it.

  Mal broke the silence. “Does everyone know who they want?” Jay sent a cheeky thumbs up. Evie just bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically. Mal looked toward Carlos. She raised an eyebrow at him, surprised by the confidence she saw as he muttered, “Yeah,” calmly, mouth half quirked up on one side, and his dark eyes gleaming. She gave the tiniest of a smile of approval. She was not the sentimental type. Not much. But it was heartwarming to see the young De Vil gain more self-esteem. It was part of what made her choice so easy. Sid reminded Mal of what could have happened had Carlos not been taken under Jay, Evie and later hers, wing.

 She focused back on the other two. “Do you want to tell us now, or wait until the meeting?”

Evie bit her lips. “I...don’t think we should share now. I don’t want to be influenced before we go. I think it’s better we wait and discuss it in a neutral setting.” Jay swiftly backed her up. “Yeah. I do have one thing to ask. Since we all have decided, can we move the meeting up to tomorrow? I just feel like if we don’t do it now, we’ll end up changing our minds. And I don’t want that.”

Mal stared at him. “Sure, I can call Ben in a little while. But is that what everyone wants?” Evie and Jay quickly agreed. Mal gave hers next. Finally it came time for Carlos.

Three pairs of eyes waited. “It’s fine with me.”

 Evie frowned. Something seemed wrong. He wasn’t as upbeat as he normally was. Before she could comment, Jay exclaimed, “Well, now that’s settled, I’m gonna grab a bit to eat. I’m starving. Anyone wanna come?” Carlos shook his head. “Naw, I got this experiment to finish up. I’ll eat later.”

Mal mentioned a date with Ben, and was out the door.

Evie, in an apologetic voice, “Sorry. I have **got** to finish this homework. I’ve been putting it off for days. It has to be done tonight or I won’t finish. Maybe next time.”

Jay shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s cool. See you guys later.”

Carlos scurried past Jay. He noticed Evie’s concern earlier and was not up for a heart to heart. He still had to work on the final adjustments anyway.

He, once again, thanked everything for the love of science.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be noted that I started this long before the second movie. I did make changes accordingly, but it is NOT canon after the first movie. This story is based purely on my own take, with elements from the first book and movie. All other sources are ignored. So if I don't add certain characters, and the 'history' of the Isle and Auradon is different, then do not message me about this, as I have just addressed the reason. This is fanfiction, after all. 
> 
> Lastly, the characters and relationships will also not be the same, since I based the characters more off the first book and movie rather than the second movie. 
> 
> Please, read and enjoy. I would love to hear your input.


	4. The Vote

                Monday came around sooner than Carlos was ready for. Today was the day. He hoped they would understand his decision. He’d spend the rest of the weekend working none stop on his experiment. The constant clinking of metal calmed his nerves. He knew that if he didn’t have something for his fingers to tinker, to distract his mind with, he would begin to doubt himself. And he, truthfully, had no room for doubt. There was no other more perfect for this in his mind, and he _would not_ accept anyone else’s doubt, not even his own. And now the moment of truth had come, and the calm he was desperately gasping for was slipping away.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. In. Out._

The arrival of his friends broke the current panic he was facing. He scanned the faces, wondering if they were half as anxious as he was. Evie was chattering away obliviously. Jay had a toothy grin on his face, which meant one thing. He had swiped something. It was more than likely the cup of coffee clenched in his right hand. Carlos only barley resisted rolling his eyes. Jay didn’t even drink coffee. _‘Idiot.’_ His eyes drifted toward Mal. Mal had the same expression she usually had. A lazy smirk and glare.

_(How she did both he had no idea. He supposed it was a faerie thing. He often saw the same thing on Maleficent’s face, only hers was much more sinister.)_

Yet something was different. Her shoulders were slumped slightly. And her hands….Carlos knew from personal experience just how much hands could express. And hers were trembling gently. If he hadn’t been watching for it he wouldn’t have even noticed. So she was nervous too...before he had a chance to comment, the doors in front of them opened.

Within seconds they were led back into the conference room they had been in only days before. Belle, Beast and Ben were waiting inside. They filled the chairs quickly, wishing to get this over with. Mal sat to the left of Ben, while Belle occupied his right. Jay sat closest to Mal, Evie at his left. Carlos decided to skip a chair or two. He did not want to be close for the inevitable uproar that would break out at his announcement.

Jay, Mal and Evie looked at him strangely. He understood why. Whenever they were put into the spotlight together, it was an unspoken agreement that they stayed together. Show a united front. For him to sit as far away as he could was different. Still, he was not stupid.

In a moment everything would be clear.

Evie began first. “Where is Fairy Godmother? Isn’t she supposed to be a part of this?” Belle explained. “We felt that her presence was necessary for breaking the news to you. But, for the actual process of deciding…well, we figured it would be best that it is strictly kept between those on the absolute need to know basis.”

Mal started as though to speak, but then shook her head lightly. Carlos gave her a curious look. She only shook her head again. He shrugged. She’d explain later.

Belle then motioned _(more like harshly elbowed his side)_ to her husband while she aimed a warm smile at the teens. Beast, who had strangely remained silent, went next _._

_(Carlos supposed that Belle was the one who handled diplomacy, so maybe it wasn’t so strange.)_

“Well, I hope you have all had a, uh, well rested weekend.” Yup, Belle was defiantly the spokesperson in that relationship. Perhaps Belle should be the one to talk from now on. And judging from the way her smile tightened subtly, she agreed too. But Beast continued, gaining his confidence with each word, “I know this must be a difficult. And I wanted to thank all of you for giving this a try.” A long, deep breath. “Now, with that said, I should think that everyone has a potential candidate in mind?” The-what-should-have-been-a-calm statement ended in a hesitant question. At everyone’s agreement, he cleared his throat. “Okay…, well, I guess, we uh, should get started then. Who wants to go first?”

Evie looked down sheepishly. Jay scratched the back of his neck, looking fixatedly at the ceiling.

And there was _no way_ he was going first.

Mal watched them with annoyance. They were all for it before, and now they were being chickens? In that case, she would go first. Mal was a lot of things, but a _coward_ was not one of them. She meet the royal couples faces, which held anxiety as seconds passed with not a word spoken. Her emerald eyes held a determined glint.

“I vote for Sid, grandson of Yen Sid.” Her friends were surprised. In all honesty, they had forgotten about the little scientist. Carlos felt bad. He and Sid were allies back when he was on the Isle. Jay couldn’t be around every second, and Carlos knew he had a better chance in numbers, and Sid himself was in need of allies, so the just sort of stuck to each other. He can’t believe he forgot about Sid. He vowed that he would make up for it as best as he could.

Jay was confused. He could only vaguely recall a nerdy kid that hung around Carlos on the Isle. He didn’t like him too much. He was way too clingy towards Carlos.

Evie stared at Mal in approval. She had a pretty good idea about her reasons. Plus she liked the little lab rat, he was a real gentleman and natural sweetheart, something rare even in Auradon.

Belle took over. “Since we now have a nominee, I’d like to mention something else. Out of the entire table, the person had to have at least two votes to be allowed to enter Auradon.”

_‘Damn.’_ He was so close. He now knew that if she even had a chance in hell, he would have to fight tooth and nail for it. He really wished he could just crawl back to bed now.

“So, all in favor for Sid?” Immediately all three hands shot up. Belle suppressed a smile at their enthusiasm. She turned towards Ben. He jotted something down with a pen and paper that was previously unnoticed. As he finished, Beast rumbled, “Who is next?” Carlos pursed his lips. Nope. Still not going. Jay groaned, then mumbled something. Ben cocked his head. “What was that? Could you please speak up?” Jay spoke louder. “Does age matter?” Carlos snapped his eyes up to Jay’s suspiciously. Jay refused to meet his gaze. He was the only one who knew about….

"No, it doesn’t, I suppose. In fact, if younger kids are the ones are your mind, we encourage you to think of them. If we can help children, then no, there is no problem with age.” A ghost of a smile crept on his boyish features. Evie and Mal were confused, and Carlos, he could feel his pulse racing. No way. No freaking way. Jay wouldn’t possibly…

”I vote for Ella De’Vil.” Gasps escaped from both girls. Evie exclaimed, “De’Vil? Carlos has a sister?!?” Mal’s cry wasn’t any less shocked. “Carlos! Why didn’t you tell us?” Ben looked at Mal with disbelief. In all the time he’s known his girlfriend, he’d never seen her act so open in front of other people. Then again, finding out one of your best friends has a sibling you’d never knew about can have that effect.

Apparently Carlos had some explaining to do. He focused on the person in question.

Carlos felt light-headed. His face was flushed and his ears ringing. Not because he was angry. No, far from it. He felt so relieved. His baby sister had a chance to get away. He meet Jay’s amused eyes. He wanted to hug him. Out of all the people, Jay chose the person who meant the most to him. Jay muttered calmly, “I bet you didn’t see that coming did you?” Carlos gave a hysterical chuckle. “No. I figured you would choose one of Ursula or Hook’s slutty daughters.”

If his smile towards Jay was watery, no one saw a reason to mention it.

Jay started with a long drawl, “Well, I guess Auradon already has enough hot girls. Since we made that , ugh-“ he gave a point look in Beast and Belle’s direction, probably assuming no one wanted to tell them about it, which they didn’t, “-agreement, I thought, why not help out my best bud?” He casually punched Carlos in the shoulder. Carlos rubbed his arm while rolling his eyes.

Ben saw his chance to clear the air. “So, by the girls reactions and Jay’s decision, I’m guessing only Jay knew about your sister.” Carlos shifted uneasily.

It probably was due to the fact that Evie and Mal were giving him mutinous glares, as if they were _one_ second from jumping across the table and strangling him. Yeah, that might have something to do with why his reply came across as a stutter.

“Y-Yeah…I-I, ugh, well, I-“Jay cut him off. “Look, it wasn’t anything personal. You know Cruella doesn’t have any kids.” At the bewildered look the royal family gave, Jay sighed.

“Mal, would you explain the dynamics of the Isle?”

She nodded.

“You see, villains don’t really do the whole settle down and marry thing. They have one night stands. And since we get really crappy medicine, contractives don’t work well. So that makes for a lot of kids. Most of the Isle is compiled of half siblings. And we all pretty much know who we are related to who. All villains are snobs in some ways, and refuse to couple with people they consider below them. Even my mother.” She surveyed Evie patiently.

“Evie do you mind if I…?” Evie shook her head. “No, I don’t mind. My father is pretty obvious due to my hair. But still, I know some are curious, so go ahead and tell them.” Beast peeped at Evie not so subtly.

Evie grimaced. “My mother’s hair is dark brown. Not blue.” Mal ignored Evie’s annoyed sigh and Beast’s abashed expression. “For example, most will have four or five siblings on just one side.” Belle whispered,

“Just one?”

Jay answered. “Well, Evil Queen has about two men she prefers. Hades, and Gaston.” Jay didn’t blink an eye at Beast’s sudden growl. Belle hushed him while Ben just huffed at his father’s antics.

Mal picked up after Jay. “Evie is obviously the daughter of Hades. Hades himself had about 7 children, three of which came from the Evil Queen. However the others weren’t very pretty, not like our Evie here, so Evil Queen refuses to have anything to do with them, which is rather common with villain kids. Our parents will pick their favorites, and leave the unwanted ones in the streets. It tends to make all relationships with our siblings strained and full of bitterness. Anyways, that’s just on Hades’ side. I think Gaston has about 11 children in all running around. It hasn’t been confirmed, but a lot of the unwanted look like him.”

Belle’s face twisted. _‘Well’_ , she thought, _‘at least he got his kids he wanted.’_ Ben and Beast looked horrified at the number of kids these villains were having.

Mal wasn’t finished. “So basically we didn’t want to choose our own family due to bad relationships. Anyways, the more siblings the merrier. The bigger number always provides protection, even if it’s not from themselves. The Isle follows the code that while you may pick on your family, others may not. Don’t ask why. It mainly a family name pride thing. What we were getting at is that Cruella is one of the few villains who don’t sleep around. We all thought, or well, _some of us_ ,” she gave Jay an evil stare, “thought Carlos was an only child. Until now that is. So, do you want to explain why you didn’t tell us?” Jay raised a dark eyebrow. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. Besides, I would have been just as in the dark as you if I hadn’t found her on accident.”

His reassurance didn’t appease either of the girls.

Carlos huffed. “Look, I know you’re mad, but it truly wasn’t personal. You know what happens to those with barely any kin to claim. I’m Ella’s only other sibling that she knows of. If others had found out, she would have been put in more danger then she already faces living in the streets.”

By this point Evie and Mal’s anger had cooled, leaving only understanding, and, to Carlos’ shock, concern. Concern for this girl they didn’t even know, concern they felt because they knew Carlos loved this child.

He was touched. While he knew that they all cared about each other, it just wasn’t something people like them showed. To see such blatant emotion, especially in front of others, made him realize just how much his life had changed. The freedom of being allowed to care was aweing. It also made him realize just how much he owed Jay. Ella not only had a chance at life, but a opportunity to _live_. She had a true shot at being free. It made his heart swell.

Before Carlos could show his appreciation, Beast called their attention back to the purpose of the meeting.

“Well, does everyone agree to this choice?” Not one person hesitated to nod their head. Again, Carlos was touched. Even if they were still a tad but angry, they didn’t think twice on agreeing. Evie straightened her back, and flipped her hair over her shoulder, which made Carlos notice something he hadn’t before. Apparently she had taken the time to straighten out her normally curly hair, which made it fall from mid-back to her waist now. He slapped himself mentally. For someone so observant, not to see something so obvious was irritating. Her brightly painted pink mouth curled into a blinding smile, and with her voice as loud as the color of her lips, she practically yelled, “Me next! I vote for Freda, daughter of Frollo.”

Groans echoed around the room. Freda was a mousy girl with bushy red hair and squinty, piggish eyes. She might have been likable, her appearance easily over looked, if she wasn’t as arrogant and cruel as her father. Jay could recall a time he saw her poking a dead rat, giggling psychotically, whispering to herself with the calm of a predator about to pounce upon its prey. Every now and then words like, “Damnation”, “Hellfire,” and “Gypsies” could be heard.

Jay tended to avoid walking near her.

  Evie gave a dismayed grumble. “Oh come on. I’m kidding. You didn’t really think I’d pick someone for so shallow a reason?’” The VK’s all gave a sigh of relief.

Belle was amused by the reactions around the table. This Freda sounded interesting. “Who is your real choice Evie?”

Evie’s voice was much softer. “Dizzy, daughter of Drusilla Tremaine.” She gave her friends a pleading look and was met with immediate gentle smiles. Dizzy was liked by all the VK’s. She was a sweet and easily excited little fashion guru. Essentially, a mini-Evie. The girl was another that wasn’t suited for the life of a Villain. And she didn’t deserve the abuse heaped on her by Tina and Lady Tremaine, or her own mother for that fact. Truth be told, the only reason the little girl hadn’t been broken by it was the because of the kindness of her Aunt Anastasia, and secret friendship with Evie.

“Does everyone agree?” Mal stuck out her thumb, pointing up. Jay yelled, “Heck yeah!” Carlos nodded his head warmly. Belle covered her laugh with a cough. “Well, I’m sure Miss Tremaine is an excellent choice.”

The teens were all both happy and relieved. The thought of such a nightmarish woman coming to Auradon, let alone within a walking distance was nauseating. Dizzy was by far the superior candidate.

“That leaves one last nominee. Carlos?”

Seeing everyone’s eyes turn to him, he gulped. This was it. The moment he had been dreading. His stomach was in knots, his heart thundered, and he could feel the blood draining from his face. He wasn’t ready. Could he really do it? No, he didn’t think he could. He was an inventor/scientist/coward. Maybe he should just take off now, before it was too late. He subtly glanced at the window, measuring the distance.

It was only three stories, he could possibly live…

“Carlos?” Evie worried voice shattered his resolve. Fine. If Evie could say someone as horrible as Freaky Freda, even as a joke, maybe his choice might not seem so ridiculous. He clasped his hands tightly on his lap. In one rushed breath, he mumbled out her name. Everyone leaned in. “What was that?” His voice grew louder, yet still, there was no real decipherable words that they could distinguish.

Mal’s temper rose. “Carlos, we can’t hear you. SPEAK UP.” Evie smacked her arm. In a gentle voice, Evie spoke to him. “Come on Carlos, it can’t be that bad.” _‘_

_Oh yes it can’_ , he thought miserably. Jay, for once in life, had his face wiped clean from mischief. As his silence continued, the air in the room grew thick with tension. Who could possibly be so bad to warrant this behavior from their normally cheerful lab rat? Evie and Jay’s worry multiplied. For a second, Jay thought they might have to call a doctor, ‘cause Carlos looked one minute away from a panic attack. And Mal…well, she would have been more sympathetic if she wasn’t so anxious to get this over with.

As quick as snake she threw out her arm, and SMACK!

Carlos’ cheek stung. “OW!”

He gingerly rubbed his abused face. Beast and Belle were appalled.

Ben exclaimed, “Mal! Was that really necessary?” It was. The ice had been broken, allowing Carlos to finally calm himself and relax the tension encompassing his lean frame. Jay chuckled at his friend’s indignant expression. Evie glared at Mal in reproach. She only smirked back, nonplussed by her annoyance. “It worked, didn’t it? Now, Carlos,” the next word was hissed through gritted teeth, “ _please_ , continue. Just tell us their name. It can’t be nearly as awful as you think.”

His eyes swiveled between his friends.

Maybe Mal was right. After all, when Evie choose Freaky Freda, no one gave her any scorn. And, perhaps, compared to Frollo’s kid, she wasn’t such a bad option. Besides, no one had technically saw her do anything evil, so maybe he wasn’t completely crazy. With a soft, calm voice, he pronounced his nominee.

“I vote for Leilah Facilier, daughter of Dr. Facilier and Mother Gothel.”


	5. Hear Evie Roar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we get the VK's reaction in this chapter
> 
> And ooh, someone acts a bit not good!

                Time seemed frozen.

Or at least, his friends were. Nobody moved an inch, not in their posture nor in their facial expression. Even the royal family kept still and silent, obviously sensing the tension rise to new heights. Only seconds had passed since his statement, yet it felt like hours to Carlos. He felt a cold sweat drip down the back of his pale neck. His previous bravo had vanished into dust. He thought he might have a genuine heart attack if nobody spoke soon. His mouth drew into a slow, tentative smile. No one returned it. His smile dropped.

Okay…well, since they were still in a state of deep shock, maybe if he hurried, he could still jump out of that window…..he tensed.

On the count of three. _1…2...-Damnit!_

Mal’s cheek twitched.

Oh god, she was pissed. Whenever her face did that, somebody bled. He waited for the blow, but it never came. Instead, she slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. Her eyes shut tightly, and she just shook her head again and again.

Evie was the next to show an emotion. For once, she was completely graceless. Her usual confidence was gone. She tried to speak, but could only manage to gawk at him.

And finally, Jay shook of his shock. His normally mischievous voice was flat, “Leilah Facilier? _Really?_ Out of everyone, you picked _her_?”

Mal’s eyes snapped open. Her eyes studied him carefully. He had no clue what she was looking for. Still, she said nothing.

Evie’s missing words came back to her with a vengeance.  “Carlos! What in the world are you thinking? There is no way a monster like her should be allowed here. She doesn’t even belong in the Isle.”

He snapped back, feeling the sudden need to defend himself, “Look, she isn’t as bad as you think. What has she done that makes her so bad? Tell, me, have you seen her doing anything evil? Because I haven’t. She may not be the...friendliest of people-“ Mal scoffed cynically, “but I don’t think that makes her evil.” Evie wasn’t convinced yet, though Jay looked as if he might be willing to consider it. And Mal, she was still watching him with thoughtful eyes.

She gave no indication of consent or non-consent.

 _‘So that was his point’_ , Mal thought.

As Carlos and Evie argued, with Jay commenting here and there for the next few minutes, Mal took this time to think.

At first she was enraged at the **_thought_ ** of THAT girl, or well technically, woman, since she was 22.  Back on the Isle, Mal was considered one of the wickedest and scariest villain’s kid due to her mother being Maleficent. That claim went mostly unchallenged, except by _her_. Nobody would verbally acknowledge it, no one was that stupid, but she was even more feared than Maleficent. She’d heard many a rant about her from her mother, and grew to dislike her even more for the actual respect she heard in her mother’s voice. It was hard to earn Maleficent’s respect. Mal herself had never achieved it. It also didn’t help about the rumors that floated around the Isle. Rumors that her and that woman might be related. After all, there was only one other magic user that was male on the Isle, and Mal happened to share a few of his facial features. So if those little things didn’t make Mal eyes glow green with envy, the fact that Leilah didn’t even try to at evil, that it just came naturally, made Mal feel like hexing everything in sight.

But Carlos did have a point. As much as Mal hated to admit it, Leilah hadn’t done anything to be considered evil. The girl was a loner that minded her own business. She might have been picked on because of that if they weren’t so afraid of her. Mal considered this as she listened to the bickering between Evil Queen’s daughter and Cruella’s son.

“…yeah, but I’d rather see Old Tremaine’s brat than Leilah freaking Facilier!” Evie’s pretty pale face flushed a red as dark as her favored fruit of apples. Carlos’ dark eyes narrowed at her declaration.

Mal held back a chuckle.

Evie’s disdain for Tina Tremaine was well known. The girl was almost as pretty as Evie, but twice as vain. It wasn’t surprising in the least given the fact that Tina was spoiled by Lady Tremaine as her youngest and was by far the better looking compared to her two older sisters. The girls were vicious rivals. Jay seemed to share Mal’s thoughts from the mischievous glint in his eyes.

At that, she decided to intervene, knowing Jay’s habit of making things worse. “Okay.”

Three heads snapped towards her. If Carlos was surprised, Evie’s face was absolutely stunned.

“What?” Evie squawked, _‘Quite unattractively’_ , Mal thought, bemused.

Carlos asked, “Okay? Okay for what…” Mal rolled her jade eyes at the lab rat. “Okay for Leilah Facilier. I think it’s a…. _interesting_ idea.”

Jay and Evie gaped at her incredulously.

She defended herself. “He’s right, as crazy as it sounds. We don’t actually know if she has done anything evil. Everybody’s so afraid of her, we all just assumed. Everyone deserves a chance. If she does turn out to be wicked, then we’ll just send her back to the Isle. Right?” The teens turned their heads towards the King and Queen. They both shifted at the unexpected attention, thinking they had been forgotten.

Belle forced a polite smile, “Of course.”

Evie grumbled. “Fine.”

Jay nudged the sapphire-haired girl. She stuck out her tongue. Carlos threw Mal a grateful smile that she acknowledged with a quirk of her brow. He knew how much Mal resented Leilah. Her speaking in his favor would have meant Mal swallowing her pride. He again was struck with how wonderful it was to have such supportive friends. Knowing that Mal had mostly done this as a way of showing him that she would stick by him felt awing. Mal, who only a few years ago scoffed at the notion of friendship and would have rather choked on her own vomit than be nice to him, was supporting him. He would have hugged her if he didn’t think she would punch him.

Evie’s irritation quickly brought him from that line of thinking. Which was good, because truthfully, Mal _would_ have punched him, and he could go without a bruise today, thank you very much.

“I still think-“

Jay interjected. “More than once a day? Gotta be quite a headache for you princess.”

Evie ignored him. “-that Leilah is a huge mistake, and when this blows up in your face, I reserve the right to say I told you so.”

Carlos answered dryly. “I’m sure you will.”

Evie only turned away with a snooty flip of perfectly curled hair. No one was too worried about it. People had learned quickly that Evie had a naturally short temper. She’d get over it after she was done with her little hissy fit.

Still Jay could admit later that his jeering, “Yeah, you go ahead Queen Medusa.” It may not have been entirely necessary. Evie evidently agreed, since the next thing she did was an explosion of movement that happened to fast for anyone to process ending with King Adam having to do an impression version of a ‘hulk out’ as his beastly from was seen struggling to pull a mind-boggling strong blue-headed teenager off a screaming Jay.

Belle was not quite sure she’d ever seen such unmanly screams of terror. None the less, she could not blame him for Evie looked close to ripping off his face. Though from the girl’s reaction and her son’s and the other two’s lack of action, she could only guess that he might deserve what he got for whatever he might have said.

Ben, while not as close to the rest as he was to Mal, had a good understanding of why Evie had lost her cool and could only shake his head at Jay’s idiocy. This was not how the meeting was supposed to end. But he had to give it to the VK’s: they really knew how to keep it lively.

* * *

 

Jay hissed as Mal roughly scrapped her fingertips along his bruised cheek, her pursed mouth quietly muttering a healing incantation. After moments of this, the swelling on his face went down and the open scratches along his forehead closed up. He still looked like he'd been in a fight with a feral cat rather than a teenage girl half his size, but that was as best as he was going to get from Mal. She'd never been one too coddle someone, especially if they were in the wrong. 

And in this case he had been in the wrong.

And Mal did not hold back on letting him know. 

"Don't start whining to me. I was there stupid, I heard you. You knew damn well how she feels about that. If you didn't expect this, then you're a bigger idiot than you are by saying it in the first place." 

"I know, I know. I went to far. I was just frustrated and wanted her to stop acting like such a brat for a second." Mal remained unimpressed with his explanation. 

"No, that's not gonna fly Jay." Mal's voice, while not totally devoid of kindness, stood firm. "And you don't call her a brat. She's one of _us_ , not some stranger from Auradon or enemies on the Isle. I know Evie can be self-absorbed sometimes, but you know her heart's in the right place. You were so out of line." Her purple and green leather clothed arms crossed over her chest. With her disapproving eyes boring into his and stance with one hip slightly hutting out she looked alarmingly like a mother chastising her unruly child. 

Jay wearily thought that in this time it might be just that.

It would be a nasty shock to anyone outside their little family that Mal more often than not was the 'mother figure.'

He knew it was assumed that the role belonged to Evie, but Evie simply didn't have the stern disciplinary personality for it, despite her contrary violence before. If anything, Evie was the little sister of the group.

Which, he suppossed, made him the older brother.

As for Carlos, he knew that he was the 'baby' of the group, considered to be a little brother to the girls. As for himself, he wouldn't say that he exactly saw Carlos as a baby or little brother. More, if anything, an innocent that needed to be protected. And if he was the only one capable of protecting Carlos, sans the girls, well then that was just that. 

 And with that in mind, he felt a bubble of guilt in is stomach rise. He really hadn't meant to be so mean to his 'little sister.' He knew that in all honesty he'd had it coming. He couldn't really blame Evie. 

He signed heavily. ":I should go apologize, yeah?"

Mal just watched him impassively, arms still crossed. 

He heaved up sluggishly and headed to the girls dorm without another sound. 

* * *

 

Evie sat fuming on her loveseat, angry tears brimming.  "That jerk! What is his problem? He's been baiting me all day, just being a...a...a...STUPID JERK. I haven't even done anything to him." Her long dark lashes trembled as she slowly winded down. 

At the floor too her side sat Carlos. After that disastrous meeting Mal and Carlos had chosen the divide and conquer method. Mal, who was a much better lecturer than comforter, wordlessly stomped after Jay as Carlos wrapped a soothing arm around the furious woman and swiftly lead them back to the girls dorm. 

He didn't know why Jay was being such a idiot today either. What he did know was that when Jay took a second to think back on his words and actions, he would feel super bad. He also knew that when Jay did come to apologize, because that was who Jay was, Evie would forgive him, because Evie could never truly hold a grudge against her loved ones. So he decided to wait out the storm with his 'sister' in the meantime. Mal would straighten him out soon. 

She leaned into Carlos warmth as he rubbed gently along her arms, just craving the familiar contact. At this point all of her previous frustration had dissipated into calm. 

"I'm not gonna say sorry for attacking him." She mumbled into the top of his head. Carlos chuckled. 

"I doubt he expects you too." She let out a laughing huff at that. 

She was grinning faintly as she whispered, "Cause he _knows_ better."

As if summoned by the mention of his name, a timid knock disturbed their musings. Evie and Carlos shared an amused look before she gingerly rose to answer the door. And standing there shyly, as predicted, was Jay with a pitiful expression on his battered face. 

For a moment no one moved. Carlos sayed where he was, choosing to let the two settle their dispute without interference. 

Evie spoke first. "You deserved it." 

The corner of Jay's mouth rose. "Yeah. I did." 

She blinked, then smiled a toothy smile. Jay meet hers with one of his own. 

And just like that, everything was forgiven. Carlos felt relieved. He did not know how much more drama he could take that day! He knew deep down that things around there were about to be shaken up indefinitely. So he'd take all the peace he could get until then. 

 


	6. Leilah

Whispers reached carefully listening ears.

Shadows, fragments of would be people, danced with malicious delight along the walls and ground of the mismatched market place, unseen by the untrained eyes. A slight fearful shiver crawled along the spine of the misfortunate individual such fiendish abominations of nature carelessly swirled through to pass with purposeful intent. Every shapeless entity gathering hungrily around its mistress. Though, perhaps in this case, unwilling captive might be the better description.

If only the surrounding crowd could see just what lingered so closely by, they might better understand that the instinctual deference and deep-rooted terror felt from the ominous air around the young sorceress was not actually emitting from the young woman herself. Doubtlessly, even the most hardened of rouges would be perturbed at such a diabolical sight. And a sight it was; a beautiful young woman walking through an overcrowded street unbridled by the numerous people of all ages, all personages parting for her instantly like the red sea did for Moses.

Her enticing eyes, almost the exact shade of the violet feather nestled safely among her long wild locks that hanged loosely around her black leather covered shoulder, never faltered from gazing directly in front of her.

Nor did her crimson coated mouth, chosen to match precisely the same shade as her tight sun embroiled t-shirt, so much as twitch. It was quite unsettling to see such an emotionless youth to begin with.

Yet this was not the sight that would bring heart stopping fear to the poor soul who glimpsed it. No, it was the quite literal darkness surrounding her that would bring life as known on the Isle to a screeching stop.

Creatures devoid of light, so black that smoke wasn’t an accurate enough description for the formless shadows.

Every move she made had inky like trails slithering with her. It would be impossible to tell how many of these things stalked her, only that if they could be seen by just any person, every spark of light on the entire street, over 200 hundred feet in length, would be devoured in favor of the blackness.

Not one person could call these monsters anything but pure evil.

But no one else did see these fearsome shadows, so the only reasonable source, the general census of the Isle agreed, was Leilah Facilier.

The malevolent aura that permeated the very air near her must be from the villainess herself.

After all it was well-known at this time that she was born with the beauty of angel, but the danger of demon. You could be the wickedest of them all, like Maleficent, whose foul deeds were famous to everyone, but no one was capable of such unparalleled atrociousness as Leilah was just by existing.  The woman had been born evil, everyone knew.  And if crossed, would most assuredly be even more dangerous.

With this almost superstitious rule, no one was foolish enough to block her path.

So had Leilah Facilier lived this way from her birth and would probably continue to live this way. Not that these irrational mortal actions bothered her.

No.

If one were to ask Leilah what bothered her, if someone could _believe_ that the woman ever _felt_ anything in the first place, she would honestly reply that it was the whispers. Not the shadows that followed.

And yes, she could see them.

She’d always seen them and even more, despite being naught but a toddler the first time, understood them for the demonic agents they were. They were as familiar to her as her own parents or her fingers. She might have felt fear from the view of them, but to her, the whispers were by far more disturbing.

There was no true words for the sound of these creatures.

They sounded like nothing of this world. No human voice could compete.

The best she had ever come close to hearing was the sound of screams from victims of tragedy or cruelty; the screech of breaks too late to stop from collision; the sound of scratching at the door of the witching hour that induces the primal fight or flight instinct.

She found that if one listened carefully to any of these, that they might hear the echoes of these depraved entities. Yet even then nothing came quite close to the horrid whispers of their true voices.

Whisper they did. She learned from birth not to ignore the gossip of the shadows. They did not like being ignored. Terrible things tended to happen when they were happy, so it didn’t take much imagination to guess what might happen should they grow angry.

Leilah, contrary to the gossip of the Isle, did not actually enjoy the thought of people suffering for no reason other than sadistic entertainment.

So she listened carefully to the shadows that for some inexplicable reason took no small amount of pleasure of imparting pieces of information from _everywhere._ From the realm of the mermaid’s at the bottom of the ocean to the furthest corners of Auradon, Leilah knew it all. Be it politics or just simple gossip of townies, the shadows shared it all. For what purpose these beings of darkness burdened themselves with such trivial matters, she knew not. It just was and had always been.

Now, don’t misunderstand. Someone might argue that it couldn’t be possibly so bad, that the blood-draining image and fear inducing sound of them aside, when all they did was ‘gossip’ to her. Right?

Perhaps, that might be so, if it wasn’t for the other things she heard. These bits of…. _Information_ tended to be much sinister in truth.

News that originated from the domain of these monsters.

One can imagine the terrible things that these creatures spoke of then.

Leilah tried not to think about it.

It was all these things that would have made her grimly decree that the Whispers where the worst part.

Yet no one asked Leilah, for no one knew, so Leilah said nothing.

It was one of these times that an intriguing piece of news trickled into her awareness. At the sound of her name casually mentioned in their echoing tones, she finally focused on the whispers nearest to her.

And when she did, she found out the most _interesting_ decision involving her.

Her parents would be most assuredly displeased.

Mother Gothels famous mass of curls’, the exact same thickness and style as her daughter’s, would probably quiver with erupting envy and jealousy. If she had been a tad less clever than she was she might have even attempted to threaten, coherence, or trick Leilah into killing, hurting, or at the very least spying on her stolen ‘daughter.’ As it was, Mother Gothel knew better. Though she had birthed Leilah and took great pride in the fearsome daughter she had borne, even she was afraid of the woman. And like any good villain, she would always put her own life above anyone else’s.

Dr. Facilier on the other hand would be angry for a different matter altogether. Between the two parents he was the one who cared slightly more for his daughter than Mother Gothel did. He was by far not the _best_ parent. He would still sacrifice his daughter to save himself. This she knew. But that did not mean, to him at least, that he did not care for the woman at all. He, after all, was the one who spent the most time with her, imparting his knowledge. Oh, he has other children, true enough. But none of them compare to his favored daughter. His little witch.

If Leilah knew what any love felt, or even affection, she might have been called a daddy’s girl.

But she did not, nor did she feel any real attachment to either parent, despite their hardest efforts to compete against each other and pit her against the other, she remained indifferent on the most part. To her, her father was just a tiny bit more tolerable. It did not change the fact of his future anger and worry for her. And if Leilah was any less intelligent than she was, she probably would have thought both stemmed because he loved her.

Her parents would not be pleased.

The other children on the Isle would be outraged. Especially Ursula’s brat, Uma.

 _Auradon’s_ children would be even worse.

Everything would once more be turned topsy turvy. Those VK’s turned Auradon traitors had no idea what they were unleashing when Leilah would eventually be set free.

All of this Leilah understood instantly as the nefarious darkness danced even more frantically and relished with baleful rejoice as they do realized their mistresses upcoming release. Or more accurately, _their_ release from the prison Island.

In response Leilah could do only one thing when she finally arrived home to see Auradon guards waiting with her, as she predicted, extremely infuriated parents.

She smirked.


	7. In which the VK's are the very unprepared

“Carlos!”

Carlos turned as Jane’s voice reached the ears of said lab rat. Her short legs, wrapped in a pair of dark dress pants, pumped double time to catch up, her pale polished kitten heels connecting loudly with the concrete side walk beneath her steps. He watched as her curled, shoulder length hair bounced over her white ruffled blouse from it’s constrains in a high ponytail.

As she finally caught up with him, he couldn’t help but admire her smart attire. She’s always been a snappy dresser, contrary to what the majority of their peers said.

While the two hadn’t worked out as a couple, she remained a close friend.

To Carlos, Jane was one of the best women he knew.

Despite Auradon’s rather limited conception of standard beauty, he personally considered Jane to be a beautiful woman.

Sure, she wasn’t like most of Auradon girls who dressed in the fanciest clothes and treated every day like a fashion show. She certainly would not win a beauty pageant. But he figured that to be better anyway.

Jane was incredibly smart and driven. She would never be content as a pretty pink princess like the other girls. She wanted to make a difference.

 Carlos thought that if Jane really wanted to, she could rule the entire world.

As for beauty, he could appreciate that Jane was more of a natural beauty. Not seductive like Evie, or otherworldly like Mal, or delicately like Audrey.

She was gentle and down to earth. With her eyes the shade of a glacial lake, rosy cheeks, glossy brunette hair and generous curves and ample bosom, he thought she resembled a Queen.

If Jane had been his type, he would have thought himself the luckiest man ever.

When she finally caught her breath, he snapped his dark eyes to her light ones. A pleasant smile grew on his lips that she easily returned. White teeth flashing beneath her luminous mouth, she huffed, “I am _not_ built for athletics.” Carlos chuckled.

With a quick gesture to his decidedly scrawny form, he gave her no words of protest. “I don’t have much room to speak.”

“I am a fairy gosh darn it. Fairies are meant for flight, not running! Did my mom make Cinderella run all the way to the ball? I don’t think so!” Annoyance colored her tone.

“Well, when you earn your wings it won’t be a problem anymore, will it?”

Contrary to common belief, Fairies weren’t born with automatic knowledge on flying. They _are_ born with retractable wings. That fact is true enough. However, flight is a skill that has to be taught by their own people. Tracing back to eons of a time when the fairies were a more feral race, tradition dictated that a youngling must perform a task of greatness to earn the worthiness of flight. What that task was, Carlos remained unaware. Even though Jane trusted and cared for him, this was one secret that she was forbidden to speak of.

This was one aspect of their culture never to be revealed to outsiders, Carlos figured.

Jane was undoubtedly not impressed with his weak reply. 

“ _If_ , Carlos _, if._ Anyway, I’m not here to talk about wings.” He groaned.

CRAP. How did the word get out so fast? The decision hadn’t even been made for a full two days. 

Jane patted his shoulder sympathetically at his obvious aggravation.

“How many people know? I thought the news wasn’t going to be released until after next week.” The King and Queen unanimously agreed that the new kids from the Isle should have a media free adjustment period. This actually quite brilliant idea suggested from Ben.

Carlos just wished he had thought it up with them first, instead of being proverbially thrown to the wolves their first time.

 Eh, no pain no gain, right?

She placed a firm palm upward. He immediately halted his inner freak out. “Calm down, okay? Not many know, I promise.” Her eyes pleaded with him to relax.

At his skeptical glare she explained further. “My Mom is _The_ Fairy Godmother _genius_. And I am to be her successor one day. It’s only natural that she start training me to handle high-stress situations. Not to mention that despite my age, I am still a council member. Do you really think that King Adam and Queen Belle would ever be able to get away with making such a drastic decision without consulting the council? They may be our Monarchs, but that does **not** give them absolute power over us, as our form of government is not strictly monarchy itself.” By the end of her speech ( _*couch* **Lecture** *cough*_) her shy tone had morphed into honey like confidence.

One admirable quality Jane possessed is that she did not have to raise her voice to get her point across.

He raised his hands submissively. “I believe you. I just wasn’t sure how soon people would figure it out. You know how gossip travels.”

She clearly did if her scoff was anything to go by.

“Well, I pity the fool who leaks this. The King and Queen were very strict about the secrecy of it until time. Even the council was in agreement this time! If anyone spills it, then I suspect that idiot will wish they hadn’t been born.” He raised his eyebrow at this. It was that serious?

While Carlos was undeniably grateful for this, something unpleasant twitched in is stomach.

He knew this would be a serious matter to begin with. But to take it this seriously?

The part of Carlos that had been wary about the whole business to start with stirred attentively.

His next question was deceptively light. “Oh? That serious, huh?”

 Jane paused.

Scanning him cautiously, she continued on much more subdued. “Yeah….I guess so. I just wanted to know how to plan.”

Thankful for her subtle retreat, he questioned, “Plan?”

“Well, to begin with, are you guys going to handle decisions about them separately or together? Like on the approach to take. Will you all be working on integrating them together or one on one? Who will oversee each person’s necessities, will it just be one main person or will you all individually oversee them?” His head felt like it was about to implode.

All of a sudden this seemed so much more real.

He _knew_ that this wasn’t going to be easy. While Auradon was much more accepting of them, there were still many who remained unyielding in their prejudice. This much evident in the disapproving faces of the older generations when they noted the friendly interactions between their children/grandchildren and the VK’s and the not so secret protests at the very presence of them at social functions. Though Carlos and the others _hoped_ that the transition would be easier this time because no one was going in as clueless as they did the first go-around, there was still no guarantee on either side. If even one part of this operations failed then they would all fail.

He knew this, yet it was only now that the enormity of his participation sunk in. He hadn’t spared a thought about any of what Jane mentioned. Which in retrospect, was rather stupid of the white haired genius. After all, it had been made very obvious that he and the others were responsible for the future ‘visitors’, so this shouldn’t have come as such a shock.

Yet, come it did.

Essentially, he realized with growing alarm, the lives, and well-being and of future of these people were in his and his friend’s unprepared hands. And none of them had even thought about how to care for them other than carting them off the Isle!

Carlos could only gaped wordlessly in reply to her.

She patiently waited as he attempted to gather his wits, light green eyes staring imploringly. Jane could not say she was surprised at his lack of answer. Over the period of their friendship she had discovered many faults in his astounding knowledge. Carlos was a complete whiz at science and could build just about anything with tape and wires. He was truly a scientific genius.

But when it came to more practicality and normal subjects, he often became lost. She did not fault him for this however. While she had shared details of her life with him, he was returning the favor, albeit more carefully. From the pieces of information he willingly shared (and some accidently), she got a rather decent picture of life on the Isle.

It wasn’t a pretty one.

It seemed that survival was the only lesson taught. Anything else was not considered important, including education. It made Jane’s heart clinch with sympathy and anger. So the fact that Carlos, and probably the others, did not know the effort and planning involved in something so important just made Jane all the more patient and determined to help her friend.

His embarrassment burned hotly on his face. “I-I don’t, uh, know what to, uh,….I haven’t really….um…”

She threw him bone. “Look, how about we set up a meeting with the four of you and we can talk about your options?”

“Yeah, that’s be great.” Relief saturated his last three words.

She already had her tablet in hand before he could finish, finger hovering over her planner confidently. “Will, say, tomorrow near noon work?”

 He wasn’t a hundred percent sure, to be honest, as he couldn’t speak for the others.

But at the same time he wasn’t stupid enough to deny the lifeline she had thrown so mercifully. Jane being in the position she was probably did not have time as it is to spare for them anyway. Saying no would be a super dick-ish move, something he could not do to his friend.

“Yes. That’ll be fine. I’ll text ‘em and let ‘em know.”

With that, Jane was off with a squeeze of his shoulder in parting.

* * *

 

Quick as a whip he yanked his phone out. Fingers flashing rapidly across the screen, he only wrote one simple sentence in face of this newest complication.

* * *

 

**[To; EVIE, JAY, MAL**

**SENT @ 12:47**

**_Meet 2 day in our spot, need talk ASAP. ]_ **

* * *

 

His nerves only settled as they all agree to meet that night.

One nice aspect about being as close as they all are is that the trust between them all was absolute. No one questioned his motives or refused to help when one of them really reached out for it. From the time the four friends had failed their quest for the Dragon Scepter, the bond they shared had only solidified with time. It helped make life on the Isle more tolerable, at least for him. Carlos had always know he was not cut out for the life of a villain. Getting invited to Auradon had frankly been the best thing to happen to him, even if he was terrified of dogs at the time.

Speaking of dogs, he hadn’t fed Duke! Dang it.

Carlos scurried with haste back to his dorm. Guilt pooled in his stomach. With everything that had been going on he had been neglecting his dog. He hadn’t feed him more than twice a day, or rubbed his belly, or let him run free for a couple of hours in a week! His little friend must have felt so abandoned.

They had to get their crap together and do it fast.

He and his friends could not just shirk their responsibilities because they were confused and nervous. It was time they stepped up and stopped letting others dictate how to run things.

On the Isle they had been the baddest of the bad. The Rotten Four. They had made sure to know everything going on around them no matter how little of an action it was. Nothing caught them by surprise. This is what had enabled them to become the top dogs and _keep_ that position up until the day they left. Their parents had made the mistake in arrogantly thinking nobody could beat them and stopped paying attention to their surroundings. It was the downfall of all the villains. And now the majority of the villains were has-beens clinging to their former glory. Without magic on the Isle, Carlos eventually realized that the only reason Maleficent and the others like her, like their parents, hadn’t been forced on their knees in submission like the rest was due to their infamous reputations. If the people of the Isle had not been so busy with survival of the fittest then Carlos did not doubt they too would have come to this conclusion. It was chilling to think how different his life on the Isle could have been if his mom and the other VK’s parents had been knocked off their pedestal. He could only be secretly grateful that this had not happened while he had still been on the Isle.

Obviously Auradon had made them soft.

He felt disgusted with himself. No doubt Jay, Evie and Mal would feel the same after he explained what had happened. Especially Mal, he grinned. The one who prided herself on being the toughest of them all. If anyone was going to guarantee the halt of their weak actions, it would be her.

Well, after tonight, no more. He would let his friends know the score and the crap they needed to fix.

It was time to revive a piece of the old Carlos.


	8. It Stops Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Evie is insightful (you really should stop underestimating Evie)

Mal loved Ben. She truly did.

Before Ben, Mal could not honestly tell you what love was. It was a word that she knew existed. Though it was a word never used on the Isle, everyone knew it existed.

By the standards of their parents, it was a weapon. A weakness to be exploited. Love was the soft underbelly offered up to be slashed with prejudice.

On the Isle, there was no such place for a threat like that. You were either wicked and strong or weak and dead. The Isle was a place where a person survived.

No more, no less.

So the culture shock that was Auradon only made sense. This different style of life was a stark contrast to the Isle. It made Mal finally understand words like; Heaven, Hell. Right and wrong.

Compared to the Isle, Auradon was Heaven. People could be allowed to be friends, to embrace their humanity. There weren’t any children that looked out at you with hungry desperation and quick grabby hands. The air was not filled with the smell of hot garbage or mold. Sunlight shone freely, not blocked by a thick layer of smog that filled people lungs with sickness. People were free to go where they wanted without fear of being murdered for straying too far into someone else’s territory.

Auradon, despite its restrictive rules and laws, was paradise. Though looking through the lens of someone less jaded, Mal could admit that they weren’t actually unreasonable.

Just annoying for someone like her who had been raised in anarchy.

Going from chaos to order, from immorality to morality, poverty to wealth, was jarring.

The transition hadn’t been an easy one. Mal and her friends had to change their entire lifestyle on its axis, to change their world view. All in less than a few weeks. The fact that they hadn’t turned on the whole kingdom of Auradon after the betrayal they were dealt spoke volumes on the progress Mal and the VK’s had made. Mal remained secretly proud of their progression, even now, as they continued to adjust to a ‘normal’ life. After all, they had only been in Auradon for two years. It would take longer than a few years to undo nearly two decades of damage.

Mal only wished other people understood this.

Even now Mal knew there was a good portion of the Auradon population who still resented the presence of the VK’s. In her opinion, the people of Auradon were spoiled. If they had had been dealt with even a fraction of the cards that Mal had been dealt in life, they would be broken worse than the VK’s and weaker. Unlike the VK’s, who only got stronger the more they faced. A small part of Mal screamed with injustice. What right did these strangers have to judge when it was Auradon who was responsible for them? Maybe if Auradon hadn’t taken the hands off approach, had tried to make sure that the Villains could not procreate as rapidly as they did, then, maybe all the suffering of the children on the Isle might not have passed. Hell, since Auradon despises the Villains so much, they should not have wanted them to have children in the first place! Or maybe if they had kept a closer eyes on the Villains instead of washing their hands of them after leaving everyone marooned on a diseased Island, they could have saved the children from the Isle to begin with. There wasn’t one child on the Isle who was loved by their parents.

If Auradon was as good as they liked to claim, they would have just done more. But hindsight is 20/20, isn’t it?

Yet at the same time, a part of Mal understood and even forgave the ignorance of Auradon. Just as she did not know of the Hell she had been born into until she was rescued by Auradon, Auradon could never comprehend the evil of the world if they had only ever experienced Heaven.

 It just felt terribly unfair that after the life they had been born into and their choice to turn their back on their former life of villainy, they were still treated like this.

But then again, fairness was a Auradon concept, wasn’t it? The Isle had no concept. And despite her current resident, the Isle would always be a part of her.

So Mal swallowed her bitterness and let it go. At least, for the most part.

Mal truly loved Ben, but sometimes she wanted to choke him for his lack of foresight.

Carlos was right. Mal was absolutely disgusted with herself. On the Isle this would not have happened as they would never have been complacent as they had become by the luxury of Auradon.

When had they started to let everyone else do things for them? Mal valued her independence fiercely. Yet here she was letting everyone else do the work for her.

‘ _Oh hell no. This is stopping **now** ’_, Mal thought.

Through a rigid jaw, Mal grounded out, “We’ve gone soft. We may not be on the Isle, but that is no excuse. We are not like these other Auradonians. We will _not_ let anybody else do our jobs for us. If any of you skip that meeting with Jane tomorrow, you’ll have me to deal with. Understood?”

Malice soaked her last sentences with deadly intent. She was not kidding in the slightest.

Jay nodded seriously.

Evie, with a scrounged nose at this epiphany of their shortcomings, agreed sourly. “I’ll be there.”

Carlos, with a sharp grin that she hadn’t seen since the Isle, gave his consent. “Count me in.”

Without another word, Mal squared her shoulders and stalked off darkly.

  _‘Getting back on top of it, no doubt’_ , Carlos mused.

With Mal gone, Jay was the next to leave with a, “See ya tomorrow!” His long legs strode confidently back to the direction of the Cafeteria hall as the meeting had interrupted his meal. If Carlos did not know how hard Jay worked to keep his Tourney Scholarship, he might have called Jay a pig for how much the man ate. Plus the life of a thief, even on the Isle, had never put much food on the table. Carlos didn’t begrudge him for his enjoyment of the free and fresh food Auradon offered College students.

Evie had no such reservations. “Does he ever think about anything other than girls and food? This is serious. We need to come up with a plan together. Preferably before meeting with Jane so we know what the heck we’re doing!”

Frustration crawled on her face. Carlos privately agreed but also did not get her strong reaction. Jay had always been like this, so what’s the big deal now?

He decided to remain quiet. Waiting for Evie to inevitably spill her real problem.

Her voice grew more and more tense, getting higher in pitch the more she ranted. “I mean, we all have stuff we have do. Do you know how many tests I have coming up? I’ve been so stressed out this week I haven’t been able to focus on anything. Let alone study. I haven’t had a low grade since my first test grade in chemistry two years ago. Two years! If I fail my grade will drop from an A to a B. Do you have any idea how hard it was to maintain all A’s for two YEARS? Oh. Wait. Of course _you_ wouldn’t.” Evie practically spate the word.

Carlos, feeling slightly offended, preserved his silence. The root of the problem was coming closer.

Obviously it had been eating at her for a while, as she rarely ever took her frustration out on Carlos.

Jay, yeah.

But Carlos? No.

Carlos, was in Evie’s words,’Their adorable lab rat.’

“I have all this to worry about, plus the fate of this kid. How am I supposed to handle all of this by myself?”

He spoke then. “Evie, you aren’t alone. You have us.”

Evie sighed. “I know. But that’s not what I meant.”

He cleared his throat roughly. “Evie, I thought you wanted to do this. If you didn’t why didn’t you speak up? We wouldn’t have been mad.”

“That’s just it. I do want to do this. If I do nothing else significant with my life, I want to know I saved this girl’s future. But I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I have all this, I don’t know if I’m ready for a kid. Plus everyone else is going to be busy with their own lives and looking after their own candidates. It’s just going to be very different and time consuming.”

Carlos was confused. “What do you mean you aren’t ready for a kid? Evie, you’re not going to be adopting her. Just guiding her.”

Evie looked at Carlos as if he had grown a third head.

“….Carlos. You know that if this works out, it’s permanent, right?”

He spoke slowly. “Yeah…”

Seeing his incomprehension, Evie groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

“So, that means she will not be going home. Carlos, Dizzy is 12. She is not old enough to look after herself. I know the rules are different on the Isle, but they were about survival. Auradon is about living. Who do you think Dizzy will be staying with? I don’t know anyone in Auradon whom would take in a preteen from the Isle. Not to mention I don’t think I trust anyone enough to leave her anywhere. Dizzy is about to be taken from a world she knows and thrown into the water without a life vest.

You saw how confusing it was for us, and we were old enough to understand our position! Dizzy isn’t. She doesn’t know the rules she’ll have to follow or that this might be her only chance. To be honest, at her age, where rebellion is just starting, she might not even want to follow the rules. You know as well as I do that the chaos and freedom of the Isle can be intoxicating at that age. That’s not even counting that she’ll need someone to look up to for guidance. And why would she seek out strangers when she has people here who know her story and the struggle she will be facing?

She’ll need a mother, Carlos. And it’s not fair to her for me to bring her here without intending on putting my all in this.”

Carlos was at a loss.

Dear god.

Once again, he was an idiot. How could he not have even considered this?

Carlos also felt ashamed for his admittedly rather rash brush off of Evie’s concerns. Sometimes even he was fooled by Evie’s drama queen persona. He forgot that underneath that pretty face was a very intelligent young woman. Leave it to Evie to realize the problems they would encounter without the rest of them having even thought about it.

Ella, he also realized, was in the same boat as Dizzy. She too was 12 years old. He hadn’t even considered the everyday living arrangement. Obviously Jay would not be allowed to have Ella live with him for clear reasons. Sure both girls could live on campus during the school year, but what about the rest of the time? None of the VK’s had their own apartments.

And Sid could not stay with Mal. If Mal could not tolerate living with Carlos, Sid was a thousand times worse off. 

Carlos winced at the thought of Leilah sharing living space with anyone.

God this was a mess.

Evie was right. They needed to discuss this together in more detail.

Each time he seemed like he was ahead, new obstacles popped up. They only really had two more weeks to get everything settled before they arrived.

The main thing becoming clear was that this was definitely going to be a group effort. More so than any of them really thought.

Looks like they were back to the drawing board. And a quick glance at the quick replies from his group text with Evie's view, he knew his friends agreed too. 

With a weary groan, he ushered Evie back to her dorm. From Jay's angry emoji's and Mal's curses, he decided to pick up a couple of pizzas and sent a warning text for Ben to hide out. Nobody wanted to have a talk with an hungry Jay or angry Mal. Carlos would have felt more pity for Ben having his cranky girlfriend after him, but Carlos was pretty out with the entire royal family at that moment.  

This was going to be a **long** night. 


End file.
